Season 1, Episode 4: "Haywire" (SPOILERS)

[ArmsHeldOut]

The weakest episode so far for me but still solid.

Kilgrave wasn’t fleshed out enough IMO & his defeat was too swift. I didn’t mind the teenage stuff at first but then it felt like it just went on too long.

Plus that kid having jitters was tight out of Smallville S1 & then when it ended with a barn scene I really felt like I was watching an episode of Smallville haha.

Beat parts for me were the football scenes at the start, Superman flying over Metropolis looking for Kilgrave, and what we’ve discovered re Morgan Edge.

Also I knew Sam would start project 7734.

Also I have a theory that Leslie might be a Daxamite if she’s not just an advanced human.

3.75/5.

This about sums up my sentiments on the episode.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Anyone know what that red glowing orb from the flashback was supposed to be?

 

[Boy Scout]

Anyone know what that red glowing orb from the flashback was supposed to be?

X-Kryptonite is my guess.

 

[Nicko-Ray]

I absolutely loved this episode from a season's perspective. Each character's conflicts were starting to solidify and those conflicts were starting to affect each other's. Obviously, by the end of the episode, things are getting really interesting. Tyler Hoechlin is the man.

 

[Thome216]

There seems to be a lot of rain in Kansas.

It helps with the crops.

Have to say, solid performances and writing all around. This show continues to stay strong. (I'm hoping Supergirl has a little of this for its last season.) Great thunderclap shot, and I think Supes was hoping to avoid doing that because of possible collateral injuries. Once he heard his kids though, bets were off!
What I would have loved to have seen though, was in that scene just before Killmonger escaped was for the guards to be a little more aware of the dangers these super-villains represent.
'Uh oh, he's starting to monologue. Better get ready, for shats about to happen!'
Once he started talking about making explosives, if I was that guard, I would have grabbed him and slammed him against the door as a make-shift sheild! Would have been funny.

And yeah, Captain Luthor just might be from the future. I can imagine what would have tipped Kal-el over the edge too, such as maybe his family being killed... It's not going to get that far, obviously, but it's shaping up to be an entertaining ride!

And maybe we will be getting a Superwoman!? If so, I hope her powers are similar to what she had in the comics.

 

[Gu3ree]

Almost feel like we see more of Clark than Superman so far. Wasn't a fan of that crackhead villain or Kilgrave, whatever his name was. So when Jordan blasted his heat vision, that gave that other kid...vibrating abilities? Did I miss that?

I almost felt like I was watching 'Smallville' the TV series. These characters felt very reminiscent of meteor freaks.

General Lane is annoying as usual, but liked seeing Lois and Clark stand against him. It looks like clearly this will be a theme throughout the series. Clark struggling to show up when his kids need him or even date Lois. Hope it doesn't become too cliche like Arrow.

What I liked about this episode mostly--well, just Superman. I wasn't that invested in everything else. Well, Morgan Edge a little bit, but aside from that, the episode was just meh for me.

I was concerned about this show being too simple because it is based in Smallville, not Metropolis.

 

[Karelia]

Another solid episode, but this one definitely had a lot less Superman/action than the previous three, which is kinda a let down but I enjoy Tyler Hoechlin's Clark Kent so much I can deal with it. And I'm warming up to Tulloch's portrayal of Lois. This one definitely had a more "Smallville" vibe which is fine, as I absolutely love that show, I just hope they don't get carried away with it.

Some plot points that keep it moving forward. I'm excited for next week's episode. I'm just bummed we already heading to a break for quite a few weeks.

 

[Matt Parker]

So, I feel pretty safe in saying that was the weakest episode so far. This isn't to say it was bad by any stretch. 5 years ago, when I was still in shock at how Zack Snyder turned one of my favorite characters of all time into a pseudo fascist (and the other one a psychotic murderer, but that's another discussion), I would have stabbed someone in a dark ally with a shiv to get something this good on a weekly basis (absolutely no disrespect to Snyder fans intended, just my humble opinion).

I think my biggest issue was that neither of the freak of the week plots were handled as well as they could have been. I was psyched to see Killgrave here, and I generally liked how he was portrayed, but he was underused and his hatred of Superman was never elaborated on at all. He was a plot device, essentially. Something to distract Clark from his family.

I enjoyed the Tag subplot just or the novelty of seeing Jonathan, Jordan, and eventually Superman, have to deal with a meteor freak (like father like sons!), but his development of powers felt out of nowhere to me on first viewing. On second viewing, I realize that the idea is that he likely got powers from the gold kryptonite, since he broke his arm at the mine, which is where Edge and Larr(?) are digging for X-Kryptonite, but that went right over my head the first time and I was baffled by the end. Even now understanding that subplot, I still think this could have been replaced with something a little more simple. Just have Jordan and John get in some kinda accident and resist calling Clark until the last minute. Maybe that would have given more time for Killgrave to be fleshed out.

Finally, what made Lana change her mind on Kyle so much by the end? That scene was cute, but I feel like they didn't earn her 180. Was there an extended scene on the app?

Finally, I take slight issue with how the super clap was handled. I actually don't mind the scene itself. Superman could have done it earlier in the encounter but held off doing so because he knew it would hit civilians. However, once he realized his kids were about to be toast (and that the other kid seriously needed medical attention), he decided knocking some civilians over was a necessary risk to stop Killgrave and get to his kids in time. Once the clap happens, he pauses to inform Sam that civilians are injured and need attention (possible fanwank, but I imagine he probably X-Rayed everyone and decided they were all free of serious injuries before leaving). All that makes sense and doesn't make Superman unlikable.

That being said, I needed a scene where someone calls him on that. Either a news headline that showed Superman in an unfavorable light because of how cavalier he would have come off to an outsider (even if we know that he just did what he needed to since other people needed him elsewhere), or for Sam to point out that Superman's responsibilities to his family threaten to strain his moral compass. I'm actually shocked that neither of these things happened, because what's the point of intentionally showing that civilians were knocked down by the clap if you're not going to call Superman out on his callousness? This is even more glaring because of how the main antagonist of this season is someone who sees Superman as a potential threat.

I know I sound super negative, but I did like the episode all in all. I like that Jordan finally took a break from yelling at his dad, I liked proactive hero Jonathan. Lois and Clark's marital spat was incredibly well handled and mature. I loved Tyler's delivery of "It's not a job. It's a call to responsibility". I could almost hear the John Williams theme when he said that. I also like the idea of Morgan Edge building a superhuman army. Edge himself is pretty cookie cutter so far, but his plan is fun in a big comic-book kinda way. And boy oh boy was it fun to see Killgrave, underwritten as he was. He was a spitting image of the comic book version and I really liked how there was clearly a prior history between him and Superman, and I hope we see more old villains that Superman has dealt with and thrown in jail over the years. It reminded me off how the Arkham games always alluded to an existing relationship between Batman and all of his villains. I'm completely ok if we ignore Supergirl's use of guys like Parasite and Metallo and just do them over here. No disrespect to that wonderful show, but this show deserves the A-list rogues. All the Superman action was still near movie quality. That claim was awesome, as was the shot of him flying tag into the clouds. They clearly know how to use the VFX budget far more effectively on this series.

Overall, I'm excited for next week. Having this show has been a nice gift after a really long year.

 

[SV Fan]

Project 7734, eh?

things are shaping up nicely

Sounds like Hell

 

[SV Fan]

Regardless of who the person Allison Mack is like in real life, personally, I never liked the Chloe character on Smallville. She got far too much center-attention in season 5. She had no role in the Superman mythos yet we got these Chloe-centric episodes focusing on her meteor ability or when she was possessed by Brainiac.

I thought Chloe was good in small doses in earlier seasons but once she started getting more airtime and got in on Clark's secret her character became annoying. Another problem I found with the character was many times somebody left the show, they seemed to throw that characters purpose on her till later in the show she started becoming the all encompassing plot device

 

[Frodo]

Well ,Smallville Pretty much went down hill for a while after a few seasons anyway, but it did stay on the air for 10 years which is long for a Superman show.

I do admit when Edge found the cave full of kryptonite, I did cringe with Smallville flashbacks.

Then again, there's a whole generation of viewers who were too young to watch Smallville , so while this stuff is a throwback for me , it's probably seems new to alot of younger viewers.

 

[jamesb]

I really enjoyed this episode . The best thing for me was for the first time , Tulloch showed some real character in her performance as Lois. And I really like the dynamic of superman/clark feeling conflicted about spending time with his family and saving people etc. I didn't watch smallville so I'm lucky I guess that nothing seems familiar to me while watching this show. I liked the villain this episode but the ending with him was too rushed and lacked real threat. I do like how they are building up other story arcs with the other big bad though. I give it a solid 7 /10

 

[Dark Raven]

Why wasn't Kilgrave wearing purple and mind controlling people?

Clark could've used the Hulk thunderclap earlier against him instead of getting as earful. Maybe he was playing it by ear all that time before.

Also why did Jonathan try to open the toilet door while Tag's hand was shaking behind there? How did he know he wasn't up to something else highly personal that wouldn't welcome an interruption? Was Jonathan keeping tags on him now?

Enjoyed Lois's response to Edge's backstory and also questioning his British accent. I was wondering if she remembered pre crisis Edge.

 

[Dr.]

...I was still in shock at how Zack Snyder turned one of my favorite characters of all time into a pseudo fascist...

IMO… the fascism is innate, so there’s no “turning into” involved. Rather, it’s a question of choosing one of two approaches:

1) Ignore the fascistic implications of superheroes (in general) and Superman (in particular). I.e., The stories should always depict Supes using his great powers for good. And when he doesn’t, well that’s just temporary plot shenanigans (like red kryptonite). But above all, stay away from the philosophy! Or…

2), Go postmodern and explore (or at least mention) the intrinsic fascism within the material. E.g., in BvS, Neil deGrasse Tyson and other talking heads (not to mention Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne) wax at length on the theme of gods being fascistic.

 

[-Arya-]

Some folks said this episode is the weakest but I actually thought it was better than episode 3. The plot is moving along nicely with Edge, Lois and Clark continue to shine, the interactions with Sam Lane and Clark about balancing his life remains a potent source of conflict, the brothers are developing well, the visuals for the most part remain consistently cinematic...

yeah people, I’m just thrilled to have such a great live action Superman adaptation. Kudos to Berlanti for developing this and making it vastly different from other CW shows. I know Berlanti’s company is co-producing the Green Lantern show on HBO so I’m hoping this sort of evolution translates over.

 

[Broseph44]

There seems to be a lot of rain in Kansas.

Okay?... That was really your takeaway from this episode? That it has been raining a lot? You act like this is so far fetched

 

[Karelia]

I just now noticed the mines are called "Schuster Mines" after Joe Schuster, co-creator of Superman. Haha. I'm slow sometimes lol!

 

[flickchick85]

Supes also caught up to Kilgrave in "Glenmorgan Square." A reference to Glen Glenmorgan from Morrison's run?

 

[Dr.]

Okay?... That was really your takeaway from this episode? That it has been raining a lot? You act like this is so far fetched

Well… in this same thread, there was also my mini dissertation on superheroes being intrinsically fascistic. But you highlighted the more important post: the weather in British Columbia.

 

[Babillygunn]

Superman isn’t a fascist. If he wanted to be, everyone would know it.
There have been some good stories where he wrestles with the temptation to go that route for the good of the peace, such as Kingdom Come, but in his core, he continually acts with restraint and with respect for civil liberties. Even Alan Moore writes him this way.

 

[Lencho01]

The actor for Killgrave played Parasite on Smallville.